Opel entered the automobile business in 1899, selling Opel-Lutzmann cars, the first of them being the “Patent Motor Car”. Partnership between Opel and Lutzman was terminated in 1901 and Adam Opel’s son initiated a new contract with the French carmaker Darracq that allowed the German company to built Opel-Darracq cars. These cars received their chassis from Darracq and their bodies from Opel.